Xyris v Kenrith v Tymna/Jeska Mad Farm v Zurgo and Ojutai

Deck Strategies

• 

  Xyris, the Writhing Storm

  Focuses on casting Xyris early and using wheel effects to force opponents to discard and draw, generating a swarm of snake tokens and dealing damage through ETB triggers and combat.

• 

  Kenrith, the Returned King

  A combo-centric deck aiming to assemble infinite mana and win through combos involving Kenrith’s versatile abilities alongside artifacts like Blasting Station.

• 

  Jeska, Thrice Reborn and Tymna the Weaver (Mad Farm)

  Midrange approach utilizing graveyard recursion and value engines such as Underworld Breach and Grinding Station to grind opponents down and win through incremental advantage.

• 

  Zurgo and Ojutai

  Aggressive and tempo focused, aiming to deploy powerful dragons early and use spells like Anticipate to dig for key pieces and maintain board control.

Gameplay Insights

• 1

  Allowing Ristic Study triggers to resolve instead of paying for them can be a strategic choice to deny opponents card draws and disrupt their plans.

• 2

  Xyris’s protection of Invasion of Carus during its ETB board wipe showed a key synergy that preserved critical effects to maintain board presence.

• 3

  Players carefully manage life totals and triggers, often choosing whether to pay small amounts of life or mana to prevent opponents from gaining incremental advantages.

• 4

  The game featured a balance of combo setup and midrange value plays, with Kenrith’s player steadily advancing combo pieces while others focused on board presence and resource denial.

Notable Cards

• 

  Xyris, the Writhing Storm

• 

  Kenrith, the Returned King

• 

  Blasting Station

• 

  Arcane Signet

• 

  Underworld Breach

• 

  Grinding Station

• 

  Chrome Mox

• 

  Lotus Petal

• 

  Anticipate

Summary

The game started with each player setting up their mana and early board presence. Tyler on Xyris aimed to cast his commander quickly and leverage Zyrus’s ability to wheel the group and deal damage via snake tokens. Seth piloted Kenrith, the Returned King, focusing on assembling combo pieces to generate infinite mana and win through combo lines. The Mad Farm deck piloted by the narrator employed a midrange strategy with Underworld Breach and Grinding Station as win conditions, trying to grind out advantage over time. Victor played Zurgo and Ojutai, attempting to get powerful dragons like Ojutai out quickly and use spells like Anticipate to dig for answers and threats. Early turns saw lots of resource development with players cracking fetch lands and deploying mana rocks such as Chrome Mox and Lotus Petal. Key interactions included multiple Ristic Studies triggers, which taxed opponents’ draws and created tension about whether to pay or let them resolve. Tyler's Xyris leveraged wheel effects to maintain card advantage and pressure, while Kenrith’s player was working on combo setup with cards like Blasting Station and Arcane Signet. Combat exchanges were cautious with players attacking to generate value but mindful of triggers and life totals. A pivotal moment was the casting of Invasion of Carus by Xyris player, which triggered a board wipe that was protected by Zyrus’s ability to save it from removal, demonstrating the resilience of Xyris’s strategy. The game remained tight with players managing resources, triggers, and interactions, each trying to pull ahead through incremental advantage or combo breakthroughs.